Prelude ( 1 ) : Otome game

"In the name of God, do you take [.....] as your husband from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death" The pope asked , wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Standing in the hall of a medieval period yet majestic church , the bride has a hard time while answering the pope's question. Meanwhile listening to pope's doubtful tone , Four young men wearing imperial clothes have a hopeful but fierce face. As if it was not for caring about the bride's opinion , Anyone of them might have forcefully eloped with her.

Even , all of the nobility including The Emperor , The Pope & Magic academy headmaster are present in the hall today , only to sought her answer after years of waiting.

Suddenly , the lady's emerald green eye flashed with a light glow as she prepared herself for the toughest choice of her life.

" I Choose ....."

.....

Somewhere in a modern day school. A teenager girl lays on her desk with head being bowed down , the hands beneath the desk are constantly tapping her Smart phone's screen. There are a few capitalized letters in the upper right corner of the device's screen that can be seen reflected in her beautiful Violet eyes.

<< THE END >>

Suddenly feeling an outburst of disappointment , the girl stands up from the seat before yelling in a loud voice.

" Damn it !! Why does every road lead to same ending ?? "

The already silent room fell into an awkward situation. The teacher in charge of today's revision lessons raised her eyebrow in surprise but after concealing it well , spoke coldly :

" Student Catherine , where do you think you are ??"

The Teacher's shout bring Catherine back to reality . Realizing the place she has been is not her 'home' , she breathes a sigh of relief but looking at the death gaze the teacher ( Female ) gave her , a cold shiver passed down her spine.

" My apologies !! I must have accidentally fallen asleep " Giving an apologetic bow , she sat back to her seat .

Though everyone knew this was a white lie , but not a single person raised their hand to oppose. After all , they knew clearly whether in terms of identity or Academic performance, Catherine is several leagues above them. And with a kind and gentle behaviour she is ever ready to help those in need , a perfect model student that their class is proud of. As for her cursing now , they themselves are very curious about it but it can be only held on till the lunch break.

Sitting back to her seat , Catherine has a sullen face . Glancing at the mobile in desk drawer , she can only grit her teeth in annoyance. She failed again and including the previous 34 times , it has become her 35th failure.

It has been a while since she installed this 'otome' game called , " Love you , Holy Maiden " . The story of the game takes place in the dungeon world filled with magic and swords , revolving around a commoner girl with the rarest magic type 'LIGHT' .

Though the gaming company claims , the final scenario changes depending on your various choices while you play as 'Ancia'. But in Catherine's case , every single time she ended up with the final choice to marry any one of the Four Male leads .

Which she finds nevertheless satisfying as each of them is a figure with influence beyond imagination but all fell in love with an orphan with no noble lineage. Why is it that a commoner is not asked to be her male lead or why can't she be from an aristocratic family to match the imbalance in their status. Why should you portray a story of princess and pheasant or the devilish prince and maid falling in love , aren't the people in the same situation as you attractive enough ?? Though she is not the one with the right to question this ..

" *Sigh...." Talking a deep breath , she took out a text book to continue her revision lessons.

" Catherine, What was that ?? " During the lunch break , the girl sitting right to her asked in a curious manner.

" Nothing , I was just not happy with the way "Love you , Holy Maiden" ended " Catherine replied while taking a small bite of steak from the fork she held in her right hand.

" 'Love you , Holy Maiden' ?? What is that ?? "

" Maybe a new TV program for girls or something... "

" Idiot !! This is a brand new game , gaining popularity within the teenage girls "

" Look , this is 'Lord Ashborn' live figure , this one is 'Ancia' water bottle . And this one is a 'Blake' mask.

" Why is that ?? " The talk aroused curiosity in the class as another girl raised a new question to Catherine.

" Because all of the male are rich second generation, not a single one who works extremely hard to reach his current status. If given a chance , any one of you or me can do much better than them. " Catherine speaks while taking a sip of the barley tea from an exquisite looking cup.

" I can't refute that " all of the girls almost said in unison .

" I don't know what this 'Love you , Holy Maiden' is about, but if it comes to most capable rich second generation. I , Kanto dan , declare our class president the strongest Rich second generation " A transfer student from japan , sad in quite a humorous way.

"*Puff.... Don't flatter me , ok ??" Catherine giggles a little , feeling amused by the student's behaviour..

" Ok . Students, it's getting late for the next class. Have you finished your meal already ??". A woman in her mid thirties , entered the class wearing a white shirt , black skirt & black coat. Her blue eyes are well hidden by a pair of beautiful glasses.

While giving a glance to everyone present, her eyes stayed on Catherine's figure for a few seconds before she looked away at other student. Catherine who was unaware of the gaze , felt a crawling sensation on her skin .

Turning the head randomly , she tried to find the source of the uneasiness in her heart . In the end what meets her eyes was a face with gentle smile . But it was this one smile that made her heart alert .

" Who is she ?? " Not recognising the teacher , Catherine asked from the girl sitting on her right.

" You mean , Teacher Merlin."

" She is a new recruit who jont the school last week , when you were on a leave for vacations"

" New teacher?? " Catherine do not know why but she sensed a burst of hostility from the opposite party.

" It seems , I am overthinking" Looking back at the teacher's careless face , Catherine shook the thought in her heart.

....

End of School

" ~~Before the day I met you, life was so unkind. But you're the key to my peace of mind.~~" Catherine left the class , humming a song her mother used to sing.

" Catherine , right ?? . " Suddenly, a voice called her from back. Turning the head to right , she found it was Miss. Merlin from Today's class.

" Yeah !! " She replied in a respectful voice

" I have something , I want to talk about . Are you free ?? " Merlin asked with a reluctant expression on her face

" Is it something important?? " Catherine asked with cautiousness, she didn't feel the atmosphere right .

" Well , It is something related to your birth mother's death " Merlin said in an extremely low voice yet it work like a devil's whisper , enchanting Catherine in less than a moment to the point , fantasicm started to appear in her eyes.

" What do you know about it ?? " Catherine hold Merlin's both hand , asking in a loud tone .

" *Shhhhh " Freeing her hands from Catherine's Control, she put a finger on her lips.

" Let's talk somewhere else , Shall we ?? " Saying she took Catherine's hand , guiding her to the parking exclusive for the teachers.

In the midst of way , Catherine wanted to ask the same question many times but held back again and again , fearing she will lose the clue she has been searching for so many years . The death of her mother is the biggest pain in her heart . She died more than a decade ago in a very unusual way , she was neither sick nor she made any enemy , but one morning her corpse was found in the room suffocated to the death . Even the police inquiry didn't find any signs of theft or robbery but in the end it was regarded as a murder for anonymous reasons.

Her father is not that great of a man . It was just after the death of his wife that he remarried the secretary working in their company. Even he has produced two male heirs along with her . But since that day he has never look for his eldest daughter , Catherine.

She is entirely taken care by her grandfather alone ( Mother's side ) , who himself just passed away a few months ago leaving all of his fortune to her as his last descendants.

" Let's go " Merlin gestured after driving out a Mercedes she owns.

...

" Why are we here ?? " Catherine asked with a frown , looking at the mysterious looking forest.

" Otherwise , do you want to go in a public place for easy monitoring?? "

" Secrets must be told in secret , *puff " Merlin said while taking a puff from a cigrate she just light up .

" Then , can you tell me . How did my mother die ?? " Catherine asked hurriedly

" Will you believe me , if I told you the culprit's name ?? " Merlin asked one last time for confirmation

" I will try to do that " Catherine replied after making her mind

" Well , you might have already guessed it . It's your father "